Our project is to use the structures of a critical friends group to encourage teachers to use wikis in their

classroom. The Critical Friends Group will be used as a catalyst by providing a group of teachers with

training and a place where experimentation can be done with wikis as a digital chalkboard. Training

will be given about the use of wikis following an interactive online module with wikis or as a face-toface

training. The two websites used for this training are minerclass-presentation.wikispaces.com and

nbjtechnology.wikispaces.com/Wikis+103. After this training the teachers will participate in a Critical

Friends Group to assist in using wikis as an instructional tool in the classroom.

2. How will you improve learner performance by engaging learners in authentic experiences?

Teachers will participate in the wiki training either in whole group or self-paced through completing the

training online. Then teachers will meet in Critical Friends Group (CFG, for a breakdown of CFG including

its purpose follow the link here) to determine how wikis can be used in their classrooms, exchange ideas

as to how they have applied wikis in their classrooms, and analyze student work that has been done via

wikis and other media technologies that can be embedded onto a wiki.

3. How will you facilitate learning through constructivist, collaborative learning experiences?

Teachers will create their own wikis through the training steps on wikis as a group or following the training

module using this resource here or this training module on wikis for teachers. If done online there would

be asynchronous communication via the wiki discussion postings and/or synchronous communication

using Skype in order to create collaborative learning experiences.

4. How will you create sound instructional materials and learning environments that are based on solid

research and learning theory?

We will use the research related to Critical Friends Group to guide discussions and create a collegial

and safe teacher learning community where experimentation can take place with wikis and related

technologies in the classroom and shared with others to determine ways that these technologies can

be used for teacher and student learning. The training components will be based on Mayer’s (2009)

multimedia learning theory and will be provided either face to face, online, or both. One protocol that

would be used as a part of the CFG is the Constructivist Tuning Protocol, which could be adapted

and used for teacher-created lessons using wikis and/or student-centered wiki activities and related

technologies.

5. How will you facilitate the use of innovations through the diffusion and integration of new technologies

and technological experiences for your learners?

Teachers will be able to experiment with the use of wikis and other media technologies in the classroom

and explore their possibilites in a Critical Friends Group using the Constructivist Tuning Protocol.

6. How will you most effectively manage this process?

The Critical Friends Group will use this format to explore how to use wikis and related technologies in

the classroom for teacher-centered instruction or student-centered learning activities. This format will

maximize experimentation, collaboration, and successes in using wikis and related technologies in the

classroom.

7. What ethical considerations will you make to ensure sound decisions are made?

The ethical considerations include using collaboration, following CFG norms and protocols, and utilizing

synchronous and asynchronous communication tools. Since the focus of the project is to use Critical

Friends Groups to experiment with wikis and related technologies in the classroom there are no major

considerations for under-age students.

8. What processes and resources will you include?

The processes will include participants being trained to use wikis in the classroom either face-to-face

or online. After this training participants will practice using wikis for instruction in their classrooms. The

Critical Friends Group will meet two times a month to discuss how using wikis in the classroom impact

instruction and student work through CFG protocols. The resources will include training for participants on

how to use wikis in the classroom (accessed here and here) as well as the CFG protocols including the

Constructivist Tuning Protocol.

9. Describe the learning environment and population that will be engaged in your project:

● Audience:

Teachers who have selected to focus on technology use in the classrooms using the Critical

Friends Group structure to promote collaboration and experimentation.

● Learner characteristics:

A group of 12-15 teachers who have selected to expand their use of wikis in the classroom

through a Critical Friends Group

● Anticipated entry-level skills of audience:

The skills for the audience is a familiarity with computers, word processing, and a cursory

knowledge of wikis.

● School environment:

Can be done either as an interdepartmental group in a school or district-wide depending on the

needs of the participants.

● Support for project by community, parents, or administrators:

Administrators are in support of teachers expanding their skill set in technology through using

wikis in the classroom.

References:

Benschop, S. V. (2012). Bilding a collegial community: a lead teacher's experience with protocols.

Connections Newsletter, 10(3), 6-7. Retrieved from http://www.nsrfharmony.org/connections/

2012.SummerConnections.pdf

Bourgeois, M., & Hunt, B. (2011). Teaching 2.0: teams keep teachers and students plugged into

technology. JSD, 32(5), 34-37. Retrieved from http://budtheteacher.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/

2011/11/bourgeois325.pdf

Easton, L. B. (2008). From professional development to professional learning. Phi Delta Kappan, 89(10),

756-761. Retrieved from http://pdingt.pbworks.com/f/From%20PD%20to%20Prof%20Lrng.pdf

Guskey, T.R., & Yoon, K.S. (2009). What works in professional development. Phi Delta Kappan, 90 (7)

pp. 495-500. Retrieved from http://www.pdkmembers.org/members_online/publications/Archive/pdf/

k0903gus.pdf

Mayer, R. E. (2009). Multimedia learning (2nd ed.). Cambridge, MA: Cambridge University Press.

Little, J. W., Gearhart, M., Curry, M., & Kafka, J. (2003). Looking at student work for teacher learning,

teacher community and school reform. Phi Delta Kappan, 85(3), 184-192. Retrieved from http:

www.nsrfharmony.org/Warren_Little_et_al_2003.pdf

National School Reform Faculty (2011, November 16). Critical Friends Group: Frequently

Asked Questions. National School Reform Faculty. Retrieved August 6, 2012, from http:

www.nsrfharmony.org/faq.html#1

Quate, S. (2008). “Critical Friends Groups”. In Powerful Designs for Professional Learning. Easton, L. B.,

Ed. (2nd ed.). (pp. 95-102). Oxford, Ohio, USA: National Staff Development Council. Retrieved from

http://digilib.bc.edu/reserves/ed720/quar/ed72002.pdf

Project Statement

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